Senator criticized for pulling support for judge

Marco Rubio pulls support to confirm Judge William Thomas

MIAMI - A groundswell of criticism is growing since Florida Senator Marco Rubio put the brakes on the promotion of a Miami-Dade judge.

Judge William Thomas was nominated to the federal bench, but without the senator's support, the process may go nowhere. Some of the judge's supporters claimed Wednesday that politics is trumping justice.

"We all want qualified, fair judges on the bench. Judge Thomas is very qualified. He's fair," said David Tucker, who created an online petition to reverse Rubio's block on Thomas' confirmation.

Tucker thought the confirmation was a done deal, but Rubio reversed his initial support, citing, "... concerns about Judge Thomas's fitness for a lifetime federal appointment... about his judicial temperament and his willingness to impose appropriate sentences."

"We don't know if it's political," said Yolanda Strader, president of the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Bar Association. "The reasons he provided were not as strong as one might suspect in order to blocking the confirmation process from proceeding."

"I would think it's a combination of a liberal jurist who happens to be gay, which sits afoul of the Senator's beliefs," added attorney Mario Cano.

Copyright 2013 by Local10.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.